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San Francisco: Step Back in Time at Whiz Burger
Whiz Burgers
700 S Van Ness Ave, San Francisco CA 94110 (map); 415-824-5888; Whiz Burger's menu
Cooking Method: Griddled on a flat top
Short Order: Classic, no-frills drive-in burger in the heart of the Mission
Want Fries with That? Fries and onion rings are generic and cooked from frozen, but totally fine for something crispy and salty
Price: Whiz Burger, $6.16, w/cheese, + 74¢, Junior Burger, $3.52; regular fries, $1.82; onion rings, $2.90; crosscut fries, $2.74
Whiz Burger on the corner of 18th and South Van Ness looks like an old, run-down drive-in. It's almost hard to believe it's managed to stay in business since 1955, as stated on its faded, old neon sign. Here you have no expectations of a grass fed burger with a perfectly pink center. What you get is good old-fashioned nostalgia, from the walk-up window and counter with bar stools to the prices that are only slightly higher than the big burger chains. During my visit, the customers consisted of blue collar workers and groups of middle school boys during their lunch breaks, along with pigeons chewing on leftover fries.
The Whiz ($6.16) is made of a 1/3-pound ground chuck burger served with two strips of bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, and mayo on a French roll. The burger and bun combo is kind of incongruent—the roll's long shape forces them to fold the patty in half to make it fit. The bread also loses points for being excessive and throwing off the bread-to-meat ratio, and for being dry (a well toasted and buttered bun, this is not). Due to the sloppy patty folding and overall burger construction, I lost more toppings to the ground (to the delight of many pigeons) than I got in my mouth.
To the burger and burger-maker's credit, the meat was well salted and there were even hints of pink in the middle. The toppings were fresh, with crisp chopped iceberg lettuce, ripe avocado, and juicy tomato, and the chewy bacon added a rich and salty flavor to the burger. On the downside, the American cheese I added (+74¢) wasn't fully melted, and I wish it hadn't been separated from the patty by a layer of bacon.
You'd be much better off going with one of their standard burgers on regular sesame seed buns, like the Junior Burger ($3.52), a quarter-pound patty with all the same toppings as the Whiz minus bacon and avocado. It nailed my expectations for a place like this. The burger had a much better bun-to-meat ratio and each bite reminded me of childhood.
The fries were crisp and well salted, but were ultimately just boring Sysco fries. I preferred the crisp onion rings, even if they were generic rings made of minced up onion pressed into ring form. I also saw lots of folks eating equally generic waffle cut fries.
One of the best parts of the meal was the fresh banana shake ($3.37), which, like the name suggests, is made with real, fresh bananas. The blend of vanilla ice cream and bananas is so thick that the straw is almost useless. It was one of the best shakes I've had in a while. The sweet and creamy shake paired well with all the other salty components of the meal.
Aside from the banana shake, all of Whiz Burger's food was very familiar—the kind of familiar that keeps me from hating cheap, poorly cooked food. It's what I grew up on and associate with Little League baseball and carnivals. It's the same thing that will always make mom's cooking the best, even when it's not. Whiz will never win awards for "best of" anything, except for maybe nostalgia and banana shakes.
Love hamburgers? Then you'll Like AHT on Facebook! And go follow us on Twitter while you're at it!
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


text:
Magnets are used to drive the shaft and impellers in this product group within the CR product family. , There is no physical connection between the pump and motor, allowing it to be hermetically sealed against leaks.
MAGdrive is a product group within the CR product family, where there is no physical connection between the pump and motor. This ensures that the pump housing can be hermetically sealed against leaks.
This has made magnetically-driven pumps increasingly popular for transferring aggressive and toxic liquids. As shown on the illustration, the magnetic-driven pump is made of two groups of magnets; an inner magnet and an outer magnet. A non-magnetizable can separate these two groups.
The can serves as a hermetically-sealed barrier between the liquid and the surroundings. As the bottom illustration shows, the outer magnet is connected to the pump drive and the inner magnet is connected to the pump shaft. Hereby the torque from the pump drive is transmitted to the pump shaft. The pumped liquid serves as lubricant for the bearings in the pump.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
By **Jay Walljasper**
From OntheCommons.org
It's become a cliché that Portland is America's most livable city, a hotbed of innovations when it comes to green policies, public spaces, pedestrian amenities, transit, public spaces, and, of course, bicycles. In fact some people are growing weary (and the rest of us envious) of hearing about how great things are in Oregon's largest city.
But clichés often turn out to be true. After spending several days exploring Portland as part of a Bikes Belong Foundation transportation workshop for city officials from across the country, I must admit that Portland offers a wealth of inspiration and practical tips for how we can make our towns more bikeable, vital and fun.
Yet, as the delegation of transportation leaders from Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City discovered while biking across the city, Portland is no Ecotopia. Local bikers still contend with roaring traffic on crowded streets and motorists who park illegally in bike lanes or honk for no apparent reason.
As Laura Spanjian, Sustainability Director in the Houston mayor's office, observes, "I was surprised there's so much traffic. Actually that made me hopeful—that we can do some of the same things in Houston even with all our traffic."
"Portland is still an American city," explains Roger Geller, the city's Bicycle Coordinator. "But since the nineteen nineties, we've tried to make biking safer and more comfortable, and good things have happened. What you see are the results of a twenty-year effort to promote biking."
The accomplishments are impressive. Today Portland sports the highest share of bicycle commuters (6-8 percent) of any large U.S. city. It's also the only large city to earn The League of American Bicyclists' coveted platinum status as a bicycle-friendly city. (The others in that league are Boulder, Colorado, and Davis, California.)
"We don't see the bicycle as simply an end in itself," notes Catherine Ciarlo, Transportation Director for Portland Mayor Sam Adams, "but the means to a clean, green, vital city."
"Biking is healthy for the economy as well as people"
The city is undertaking ambitious new plans to boost biking even more over the next twenty years. Calculated to cost six hundred million dollars between now and 2030—a price tag that's drawn some criticism in this era of tight municipal budgets—Ciarlo lauds the 2030 Bicycle Master Plan vision as "a good investment" that accounts for no more than five percent of the city's overall transportation budget.
"The progress we've made in increasing biking came at a very low cost compared to other transportation funding," she explains. Geller adds that between 2001 and 2007, bike facilities comprised less than one percent of Portland's overall capital expenditures for transportation despite carrying between 3 percent and 7 percent of all trips.
Bikes actually pump a surprising amount of money into the local economy, according to Ciarlo. It's a selling point for attracting tourists, and a recent study from CEOs for Cities shows that Portland keeps eight hundred million dollars that would drain out-of-town if local residents drove cars at the same rate as an average U.S. city. The conclusion is that by spending less money on gas and less time on the highway, Portlanders have more of both to spend at local businesses.
Mia Birk, Portland's Bicycle Coordinator from 1993-1999 and now CEO of Alta Planning+Design, points to a study showing that bikes now account for one hundred million dollars in local economic activity each year (including retail sales, national firms based here, and proceeds from bike events and rides), and are directly responsible for almost one thousand jobs in the region. She notes that a similar study in Wisconsin found a $1.5 billion boost for the state economy.
"Promoting Biking Beyond the Young and the Fearless"
Today Portland sports the highest share of bicycle commuters (6-8 percent) of any large U.S. city.
Portland's 2030 Bicycle Master Plan, unanimously adopted by the city council earlier this year, envisions Portland as "a world class bicycling city" by tripling the overall mileage of bikeways in the hopes of encouraging even more people to ride.
Meanwhile Metro, a government body elected by the entire metropolitan area, is enacting a plan to triple the number of people biking throughout the region over the next thirty years. Their target goal is that 40 percent of all trips of three miles or less in the city and suburbs would be done atop a bike by 2040.
"In some neighborhoods in Portland, 10-15 percent of people already bike each day," notes Lake McTighe, manager of Metro's Active Transportation Partnership, "which means that we could be making parts of Portland into a mini-Amsterdam or Copenhagen."
For those who say that people living in outlying suburbs will never bike in large numbers, McTighe answers by quoting from a study by the National Association of Realtors showing that the second most desired amenity homebuyers want today is access to biking and walking trails. (Access to a freeway is first, proving that it's not question of bikes vs. cars in most people's minds.)
Both the city's and Metro's plans signal a strategic shift in bicycle planning—a new push to serve more than the 8-10 percent of people who feel at ease biking today. Portland is now focusing on meeting the needs of the 60 percent of people who report in surveys that they're interested in biking more but feel nervous doing it on streets with cars zooming past.
This means reaching beyond the young, macho, ultra-fit white men we typically think of as urban bikers to broaden the appeal for women, families, middle-aged and non-white riders. In the Netherlands, for instance, where 27 percent of all trips nationally are made on two wheels (and up to 50 percent or more of all trips are pedal-powered in some urban centers), more women ride than men. Even among people over seventy-five, a quarter of all trips are on bike.
The best way to get more people on bikes, according to Portland officials, is to make biking seem less scary.
Actually the numbers of bicycle fatalities is decreasing in cities across the United States, Ciarlo says, and declining even faster in Portland—which shows that the more bicyclists there are on the roads, the safer biking becomes.
But even in Portland, many people feel that biking on city streets is a risky proposition. That's why the new Bicycle Master Plan will augment the city's established network of bike lanes—where a white line divides riders from cars and trucks—with new facility types where people can ride on less-traveled streets optimized for bike speeds or roads with physical protection between bikes and motorized traffic.
Portland's plans also involve ways to increase the safety and comfort of bicyclists when they do come face-to-face with traffic at in intersection. Among these innovations, most of which have been proven to work elsewhere in the world, are:
• Bike boxes, a designated area in busy intersections where bicyclists can gather in plain view of cars at the stoplight, increasing visibility and reducing the risk of being struck by right-turning cars and trucks.
• Colorized bike lanes, which offer a clear visual reminder to motorists and bicyclists that they share space on the roadway. These can be particularly helpful for bicyclists making left turns at an intersection or to command extra attention at key locations.
The best way to get more people on bikes, according to Portland officials, is to make biking seem less scary.
• Traffic signals for bikes, which better informs cyclists of the safest time to cross, and sometimes gives them a head start to reduce turning conflicts with motorized traffic.
• Traffic calming, an entire toolkit of roadway techniques that remind drivers to heed speed limits and look out for bikers and pedestrians on the streets. These include everything from the familiar traffic humps and median strips to elevated crosswalks and traffic diverters, which give bicycles priority on some streets.
"What place is the next Portland?"
But what about the folks who want other examples of great biking cities in addition to Portland?
When I asked that question of Mia Birk, founder and CEO of Alta Planning+Design+, a sustainable transportation firm with fourteen offices around the country, she quickly drew up a list on the back of an envelope. Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Seattle and D.C. are leaders among large U.S. cities, she explains. (Minneapolis, in fact, recently unseated Portland for the title of America's Most Bike-Friendly city in Bicycling magazine—a decision that was disputed by many in Portland.)
Birk also points to other places beginning to do "cool stuff" around biking: St. Louis, Boston, Dallas, Des Moines, Long Beach, Philadelphia, Fayetteville (Arkansas), Tacoma (Washington), Greenville (South Carolina) and Jackson Hole (Wyoming).
So who knows? Some day, not too far off in the future, city officials seeking great new ideas about biking may be traveling to Iowa or Houston, as well as Portland.
After all, "no one in the nineteen seventies or eighties would have singled out Portland as a great town for biking," admits city Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller.
Copyright 2010 Jay Walljasper
This post originally appeared at OntheCommons.org.
Jay Walljasper is an editor at On The Commons. He is a writer who covers urban, community, environmental, cultural, international, and travel issues. His most recent book is the The Great Neighborhood Book, a guide to how people can change the world on their own block. He is a senior fellow at Project for Public Spaces and senior editor at Ode magazine and writes a blog on green cities for the National Geographic Green Guide and covers sustainable travel for National Geographic Traveler. For many years Jay was editor of Utne Reader.
To read blog entries from Jay Walljasper and others at GUERNICA click HERE .


text: WHO "Each year infectious diseases kill 3.5 million people – mostly the poor and young children who live in low and middle income countries. Research can change this and bring health to many more people. TDR has brought people and institutions together to identify and advocate for the research priorities that will bring new and innovative approaches and products. The result is Global Report for Research on Infectious Diseases of Poverty , which provides a new cross-disciplinary approach and analysis. It is essential reading for policy-makers, funders and research leaders."


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DOVER — On Wednesday, March 6, the Dover High School Guidance Department will offer several workshops for parents of Juniors. The focus of the evening will be "Life After High School" and topics will include the college search and application process, how to pay for college and non-college options such as jobs, apprenticeships, Gap Year and the military.
This is the same night as Parent Conferences which begin at 7:00PM. The Guidance Workshops will begin at 6:00PM in the Auditorium. After the presentations, Counselors will be available throughout the evening to answer questions.
Please call the Guidance Office at 516-6940 with any questions.
SOMERSWORTH — The Network for Educational Opportunity (NEO), announces a Scholarship Information Session to be held March 14 (Thurs.) at 7:45 at Tri-City Christian Academy's Open House, bringing school options and scholarship information to families.
Thanks to a law passed by the New Hampshire legislature, families may be eligible for financial need-based scholarship awards to pay tuition at an independent/private school, a public school outside of their district, or for homeschooling expenses. Tri-City Christian Academy, 12 Rocky Hill Rd., Somersworth. Representatives from The Network for Educational Opportunity will be on hand to explain the financial need-based Education Tax Credit Scholarships available to families. All members of the community are welcome to attend this family-friendly event. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. More information about the Education Tax Credit Scholarship Program can be found at www.networkforeducation.org or call 888-325-1776.
KITTERY, Maine — If you have a child entering Kindergarten in Kittery for the 2013 -2014 school year, you must call the Horace Mitchell Primary School at 439-1707 to schedule an appointment with our school secretary. You may download registration materials from our website, or pick them up at school. The dates for Kindergarten Registration are: March 6 and April 3. Parents should plan on spending approximately one hour to complete this process. The child and parent are invited to the appointment.
If you have any further questions about our registration, please feel free to contact: Principal David Foste 439-1707.
DOVER — Dover Adult Learning Center is offering Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes for people who seek to improve basic skills in reading, writing and math. Students gain the skills they need to be successful. Students may prepare to take the GED exam at the Center through exercises, practice tests and ABE classes. A new GED is coming in 2014 so all current scores will expire at the end of this year. Call to schedule an appointment to meet with a counselor in Dover or Rochester 603-742-1030. Get more information on our website www.dalc-online.org.
EXETER — If you didn't finish high school and would like to prepare for the GED test (high school equivalency exam), work on your reading, writing, and math skills, or improve your speaking, vocabulary, reading, or writing of English, come to adult education. Classes are small and in a relaxed atmosphere. All interested adult students should call Exeter Adult Education at 775-8457. Classes meet at the Tuck Learning Campus, (former Exeter High School), Entrance D, 30 Linden Street, Exeter. For more information visit our website at http://adulted.sau16.org or find us on Facebook.
ROCHESTER — Early enrollment for the 2013/2014 school year for grades Kindergarten through Eighth Grade is open at Lighthouse Christian Academy at 17 Heaton St. in Rochester through March 21. Registration and book costs will remain at the 2012/13 levels until March 21 before book costs increase on April 1.
Lighthouse Christian Academy is a ministry of the Harvest of Praise Church of God, celebrating its 29th year this fall. For enrollment applications or more information you may call the school at 603 335-1151 or check them out on the web at www.harvestofpraisecog.com.
DOVER — Portsmouth Christian Academy is now accepting applications for the 2013-2014 school year. For more information and application forms, please contact Mrs. Diane Sipp, Director of Admissions, at 603-742-3617, ext. 116, or email her at email@example.com. Please visit PCA's website, www.pcaschool.org, for directions to its 50-acre campus in Dover, N.H.
YORK, Maine — York Adult & Community Education reminds readers the current version of the GED test will expire at the end of 2013. The current version, known as the 2002 Series GED test, will be replaced with the new 2014 GED test on January 2, 2014. Interested GED test-takers can find more information at www.yorkadulteducation.org. York Adult & Community Education is at 1 Robert Stevens Drive,York. Call 207-363-7922 or 207-363-4214 x2113.
ROCHESTER — The Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce is pleased to be providing a $500 scholarship to eligible students graduating from high school. Students must be graduating seniors in high school who are either employed by or have a parent employed by a company that is a member of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and in good standing.
The recipient will be selected in May and be awarded in June. The scholarship awarded will be payable to the institution they are attending in their second year of attending a full-time college, university or technical school.
Scholarship guidelines and applications are available at high schools in the region, at the Chamber office located at 18 South Main Street in Rochester or by visiting www.rochesternh.org . The deadline to submit completed scholarship applications is Friday, April 26, 2013.
CONCORD — New Hampshire Retired Educators Association offers two $1500 scholarship awards to graduates of New Hampshire secondary schools. The students must be in their junior year of an accredited college or university, pursuing a course of study that leads to teacher certification. If in a 5-year program, they must be in their senior year of study.
The Irene Hart Memorial Award is given to a student who is completing his/her course of study at a New Hampshire College of university. The NHREA Memorial Award is given to a student completing his/her course of study at a non-New Hampshire college or university.
Completed applications are due on May 1, 2013. The forms may be obtained from a retired educator in your area, Phyllis Simmons at 382-8405, Margaret Pyszka at 472-5716, Nancy Doe at 978-373-0960 or Patricia Bolduc at 524-2662.
ELLSWORTH, Maine and PORTLAND — The Maine Community Foundation offers nearly 450 scholarships that support students pursuing music, journalism, teaching, horticulture, technology, the arts, and many other fields. They are available for students attending secondary, post-secondary, and graduate schools, as well as non-traditional programs.
A complete listing of scholarships available for the upcoming school year is now online at the Maine Community Foundation website, www.mainecf.org.


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A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
1931 - 2000
Historical Period:
The 20th Century and Beyond
Paul Heyne taught at Valparaiso University (1957–66), Southern Methodist University (1966–76), and the University of Washington (1976–2000). He was a well-trained theologian, a gifted and dedicated teacher of economics for over forty years, and the author of a highly regarded and widely used textbook, The Economic Way of Thinking which has gone through 11 editions.


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what we did yesterday...
Was visit the Emergency Room with a very unhappy little boy. He ate something and had a sudden allergic reaction followed by swelling, hives, itching and plenty of crying. I was terrified at this sudden outbreak and we rushed to the hospital as quickly as we could, trying to talk Israel through the car ride to keep him calm.
I was nearly in tears as we fought our way through lots of traffic and ridiculously slow drivers. Finally, we arrived at the hospital and by this time most of the swelling and hives had nearly disappeared (the drive was nearly 40 minutes mind you). After a little Benadryl and some monitoring, Israel was asleep in Daddy's arms, ready to go home. I left out a few details, it wasn't that quick of a trip, but you get the general idea.
I would like never to experience this sort of unforeseen panic again with Israel. I was so nervous for him, seeing him itch his swollen little wrists and not know what was going on inside of his body. For those 40 minutes, I tried not to jump to conclusions. I tried to stay calm, think objectively about what could have gone wrong and not let on to my little toddler that mommy was worried. But truthfully, I was thinking that I could not let anything bad happen to my sweet baby. I was thinking that I could not imagine life without his sweet face, curious voice and happy laughter!
I'm glad to say he's been just fine for the last 24 hrs but we're still not quite sure what went wrong. I'm hoping he has not developed a peanut allergy (please no!) but we will be visiting the doctor again really soon to find out.
Anyways, I've been carefully watching everything I feed him and looking for even the faintest of signs that something might go wrong and remembering to be thankful for this wonderful little gift we've been given, I love this boy!
Other Stories
32 comments:
That sounds terrifying! So glad little Israel is feeling better.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 15, 2012
Oh no! I have a 19 month old and we had our first trip to the ER a few months ago. Its so scary when your baby is sick or hurt. Sounds like you did a good job and kept your cool and hopefully not a peanut allergy.ReplyDelete
I'm glad Israel is ok!ReplyDelete
This same thing happened to me last summer. My little one ate something and all of a sudden, the hugest hives. I freaked out too, and of course, thought about the worst case scenario. Not knowing what to do is so hard, I want to rush mine to the ER every time anything seems off.
Oh! That's so scary! I think I would just call 911. I don't know if I'd make to the hospital without getting into a car accident.ReplyDelete
Should we keep Children's Benadryl at home?
I feel for you all! Nice to hear Israel is doing ok now.ReplyDelete
What a scare! I am glad to hear that he is doing better.ReplyDelete
Poor baby and poor Mom! You were terribly brave. I am certain that I would have been in a near panic as well. It sounds like your Benadryl may have saved your little one a lot of trouble!ReplyDelete
Poor boy and poor mum and dad! What a scary experience for all of you. I'm glad he is better!ReplyDelete
I'm so sorry to hear this, Jen! It brought me to tears. As a mom I understand how this things can be so terrifying for you. I've been there too... I gave Emma peanut butter when she turned 3 for the first time and she never had a reaction until she ate peanuts at a party during Christmas time last year. It was also mild but I took her to an allergy specialist because both Frank and I suffer from various allergy problems. He said that kids with previous outbreaks need to be monitored for at least a year, sometimes it's not the peanuts but other ingredients that the processed ones may contain. I'm so glad little Israel is doing well. I hope you have recovered from the shock. All my love.ReplyDelete
That sounds so scary--I am so glad he is ok.ReplyDelete
I 'm glad that he's fine, we love our kids so much, is horrible when they get sick ,I know that feeling, our son is allergic to penicillin, so we make sure he do not take a medicine with penicillin. Best wishes to your sweet boy and you too.ReplyDelete
not being able to help the little ones is the worst thing at all. glad he is better now. the pic with him and the roses is magic, by the way.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 16, 2012
So scary! I'm sorry you had to go through that. Time to invest in a good allergist and loooots of Benadryl. Heres o hoping you never have to go through that again.ReplyDelete
I am so sorry! it is so scary when something like this happens to your little one; such a panicky and helpless feeling - i can totally relate having 2 little ones under 3! hope he is doing ok and you can figure out what it was. xoxox EReplyDelete
My 6 year old daughter is severely allergic to peas so we have to carry Epipen with us all them time. Luckily peas are not as common in schools but I never stop worrying about her. Allergies are scary but hopefully Israel doesn't have a severe one :-), fingers crossed.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 16, 2012
So glad everything is ok :)ReplyDelete
Oh Jen, I am so glad the wee man is fine. It is unparalleled scary when they are poorly so dramatically. I feel for you so much. So glad all ok, Jo xReplyDelete
Hi Jennifer!ReplyDelete
To make your day a little bit better, I wanna tell you that I spent the last three days on your blog, reading everything. Pinning alot and neglecting both work and cleaning.. And after reading your first post (last for me), I continued to your DIY on Pinterest. Oh how I wish my father was an octopus! How will I ever find the time to do all these beautiful things? Well, I just wanted to say that I LOVE your blog and that you are really inspirational in the way you start your projects, it seems so easy! You also have such good taste and energy to find new things. And Swedish as I am, I really enjoy seeing alot of Scandinavian design on your blog! Take care and keep up the wonderful work!
I know exactly how you felt/feel! Treasure every second. He has grown so much too!ReplyDelete
i would like to say thank you about this cool post,and this idea very helpful to me,
Thank You
- AnonymousFebruary 18, 2012
Jennifer, today my 2 and a half year old son Dylan had a high temperature that didn't drop. Then i picked him up and carried him to the dining room for dinner and he vomited all over both of us and the floor, i could smell the banana smoothie. Then he did again. The poor little thing. I had similar feelings to you. I love my little boy and was reminded how intrinsic he is to my life now. I couldn't live without him. It was a grim moment. he is asleep now and hopefully recovering. IngridReplyDelete
So frightening! I am not a parent myself so I can only imagine how scary it must be when your child is in distress. I'm thankful that little Israel is alright; I hope you get some answers soon as to what caused his allergic reaction.ReplyDelete
Sounds so frightening but glad his fine now. I can believe the panic, when something like that happens with your child.ReplyDelete
I shipped our order today, sorry the tiny delay.
Oh my! I Hope everything's back to normal again with you. It sounds frightening.ReplyDelete
I hope that everything is ok with your son!!!! my best thoughtsReplyDelete
Poor baby! So good to hear that all is well after such a scare.ReplyDelete
Oh poor baby boy ! I hope he is all well now, and that you will knowReplyDelete
as soon as possible what caused his allergic reaction ! I just cannot
imagine how excruciating it must be to be helpless while your baby
is in distress :(
have a good day with Israel :)
40 minutes of feeling hopeless in helping your little babe, that is agony! even a minute makes me get a lump in my throat. i hope you'll never have to endure it again! it sounds like he's feeling better. i hope you are able to figure out what gave him such a reaction. scary stuff!ReplyDelete
may the rest of your week be relaxing and well.
:( I am happy that he is ok now! He is so cute little boy! <3hugs from Finlad <3ReplyDelete
Poor little thing! The exact same type of allergic reaction happened to me last Easter. I've been lucky enough my whole life to (so far) not have any allergies but after eating a meal at a restaurant (that I had eaten several times before) my entire body developed itchy hives, especially on my hands, feet and around my mouth (which became very swollen). Thankfully My throat didn't swell but it was the strangest thing, and hasn't happened since. Benadryl and a (very) cold shower did the trick for me. Haven't had a reaction since! I hope the little one hasn't developed anything, but maybe it was just a fluke!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 27, 2012
Oh, so sorry for you guys! But I've been thinking, could it have been urticaria? My daughter had that and I rushed her off to hospital as well. They've never been able to tell us why it appeared, but it seems to be pretty common and (fingers crossed) most of the times it's not allergic. Hope you're fine!ReplyDelete
Thank you for your comments, I love hearing from you!
Questions, comments or sponsorship inquires, please contact me via the 'contact' link.


text:
Tips for Teaching to a Diverse Student Body
As community college instructors, we have the privilege, and sometimes challenge, of teaching to a very diverse student population. Students attend a community college under various circumstances with various levels of preparedness and motivation:
- some students plan to transfer to a four year institution, while others need to upgrade skills
- some have full-time jobs and families, while others come straight from high school
- some speak English as a second (or third) language
Regardless, this diverse student body requires that faculty have a variety of teaching strategies and techniques available in their teaching toolbox. Consequently, you may find the following tips, adopted from The Chronicle of Higher Education, helpful.
- Keep in mind what it was like to learn a new subject for the first time and craft exams and assignments appropriately. For instance, lengthy essay exams might not be appropriate for freshmen or sophomores.
- Share your expectations with your students and find out what they anticipate learning in your class. To learn more about your students'experiences and expectations, administer a Bio Sheet on the first day of class.
- From the first day, be clear regarding your policies on tardiness, late assignments, makeup exams, etc. Refer to these policies when there are questions.
- Find out what technology applications fit with your teaching style and your students'preferences, and take advantage of training to become proficient at using the technology.
- Be mindful of your students'responsibilities such as full-time jobs, families, long commutes, etc., and if possible, consider making some course material accessible online so that students can easily access 24/7.
- On a regular basis, ask your students for feedback regarding what is helping and what is hindering their learning through classroom assessment techniques, such as the One Minute Paper. This reinforces the process of asking for and giving constructive feedback. Additionally, after each class or unit, take notes on what worked well and what didn't. These notes make it much easier to make modifications when you teach the subject again.
- Be aware of the following services which are available to assist students at LCC: Counseling, Advising, Tutoring Services, Disability Support Services, Student Life, the Women's Resource Center/Returning Adult Program, the Academic Resource Center (ARC), the Writing Studio, and Library Information Services, to mention a few. If applicable, you might even invite someone from these areas to come and speak to your class about their services.
- Help your students see the relevance of the subject matter. Better yet, ask them how a given topic relates to their life. Requiring them to find applications outside of the classroom reinforces what they are learning.
- Consider requiring, or strongly encouraging, your students to meet with you one-on-one at least once during the semester. This meeting can be very beneficial to students who might be reluctant to ask questions in class and/or who are having difficulty with assignments or exams.
Fogg, Piper. "A Dozen Teaching Tips for Diverse Classrooms." Community Colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2007. Web. 7 July 2008.
Center for Teaching Excellence
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Phone: (517) 483-1680
Email: email@example.com
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Since 1908, the Crescent River Port Pilots have been safely and efficiently piloting ships up and down the 106 miles of the Mississippi River between Pilottown and New Orleans. The Crescent Pilots use their knowledge of local waters and port conditions, and their experience as professional pilots to move a wide range of vessels ranging from oil tankers to cruise ships.
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text: Glipizide is a sulfonylurea used in patients with diabetes mellitus to lower blood sugar. Notify your physician if you are pregnant or nursing. Do not change the dose or stop taking glipizide without talking with your physician. Immediate-release glipizide tablets should be taken on an empty stomach, 30 minutes before a meal. Extended-release glipizide tablets may be taken with food. Do not break, crush, or chew extended-release glipizide tablets. Patients taking extended release glipizide tablets may notice something that looks like a tablet in their stool. This is the leftover tablet after the medicine has been absorbed and is normal. Avoid drinking alcohol while taking this medication. Alcohol may cause flushing, weakness, dizziness, a tingling sensation and headache. Avoid taking aspirin with this medication. Notify your physician if you develop unexplained fever, sore throat, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, or skin rash. Notify your physician if you develop fatigue, nausea, confusion, agitation, excessive hunger, profuse sweating, numbness or tingling of lips, tongue or extremities (may indicate low blood sugar), or if you develop excessive thirst or urination, or glucose or ketones in the urine or blood (may indicate high blood sugar).


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Today Bad Neustadt is a spa resort whose attractions include its saline springs, a beautifully preserved old quarter and baroque art at its most exuberant. When Luther's mother was born here in the 15th century, the town was the economic centre of the Franconian hill country.
Margarethe Lindemann and Hans Luder were the same age when they married in 1479/80, and they lived together in her home town for three years. Back then, Salzburg Castle towered above the town atop a vine-clad hill. Today it is a romantic ruin with a mighty gateway keep and two Romanesque residential towers.
The town's Carmelite church is a jewel of Franconian cultural history. It contains one of the finest baroque pulpits in Bavaria and a wonderfully preserved baroque organ from the 18th century.
The most famous landmark in the Bavarian town of Bad Neustadt is the 34-metre Hohntor gatehouse crowning the heart-shaped town wall, which is completely intact. Inside the old quarter, the market square serves as the focal point and is lined by elaborate baroque buildings. Neuhaus Palace, the late-baroque jewel of the spa district on the opposite bank of the Saale, is surrounded by an English-style country park, which is perfect for a stroll.
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WASHINGTON (WJLA/CNN) - The yellow Labrador retriever who served as President George H.W. Bush's service dog is receiving a top honor.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says Sully has earned the Public Service Award. According to the nonprofit, the award is given to an animal or officer who "has demonstrated a commitment to his or her career."
Sully served by Bush's side from June 2018 until his death last November.
Since then, Sully has worked as a facility dog at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where he assists injured veterans and their families while also offering them comfort.
Copyright 2019 WJLA via CNN. All rights reserved.


text: Contract OverviewCynet Systems Inc. offers information technology staff augmentation services (ITSAC) through this contract, specifically: 168 awarded categories of Information Technology labor rates. Jobs for Customers are competitively solicited through DIR in regards to this ITSAC contract. Contracts may be used by state and local government, public education, other public entities in Texas, as well as public entities outside the state. Resellers are not available for this ITSAC contract. This contract does have a number of subcontractors, many of which are HUB vendors. Contract Documents DIR-TSO-3600 Contract PDF (127.95KB) DIR-TSO-3600 Appendix A Standard Terms and Conditions (per Amendment 1) PDF (977.56KB) DIR-TSO-3600 Appendix B HUB Subcontracting Plan PDF (844.1KB) DIR-TSO-3600 Appendix C Services and Pricing Index PDF (234.53KB) DIR-TSO-3600 Amendment 1 PDF (121.36KB) DIR-TSO-3600 Exhibit 1 RFO DIR-TSO-TMP-242 ZIP (3.9MB) Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) Accessibility Information regarding Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) accessibility of this vendor's offerings is included in the contract. Agencies purchasing products or services are responsible for complying with Texas EIR Accessibility statute and rules, as defined in TGC 2054 Subchapter M, 1TAC 206, and 1 TAC 213. For additional information, visit the Vendor Website or contact the vendor directly. Please note that some of the documents on this page are in the PDF format. Please download the Adobe Reader in order to view these documents.


text:
What's Up: Shane Bonifay
Shane with a serious MLB face…photos courtesy of GC.
What's up Shane Bonifay:
NTM HBU? Oh thought this was an IM. Well, I'm in Germany on the greatest trip of all time with Bob Soven, Melissa Marquardt, and Nico Von Lerchenfeld for Monster Energy.
What's up with your hair right now?
I'm the fresh prince of Orlando, so a new cut was needed. A little shorter, a lot more beautiful. Thanks Lauren Loe, call me maybe?
What's up with the Shane line by LF?
Do you want the sales pitch? Ok good, cause I don't know it, but I Love my line!
But really the Shane hybrid is one of the best all around boards; boat, cable, rails, whatever. And they boots are my favorite design yet. So comfy!
What's up with the off season?
Off season? Never heard of this. I don't know if you know what I know about serious training, but I'm serious….. about training.
Shane taking his method to downtown Orlando in the 2012 Alliance Method Contest.
What's up with 2612?
Right now my house is sort of a Euro hostel. I have Marc Rossiter (from England)living with me full time. Then I got Dominic Henler (from Austria) staying for a few months and Oliver (from Denmark) staying for a month. They're all really good wake park riders that keep pushing me to stay up to par with all the kids these days.
What's up with the new Mastercraft X-Star?
I just ordered mine the other day and can't wait to have it at the house full time! It's got such a good wake it's going to be hard to keep me off Clear Lake.
What's up with Bob (Soven) living in the hood?
You mean ginger salad? Yea, I'm not really a fan of candid cameras, so I stay away from him. Haha. No, Bob goes to school when we are at home so he doesn't like associating with drop outs like me and I only get to hang with him on trips like the one I am on right now.
What's up with them bitches?
They be crazy.
What's up with the folks?
Peter B is still the entertainment director, and if you need a new foam injected swivel ski, call Betty.
What's up with Parks being a stuntman?
Yea….it's great but this shadow over me is really getting old. It's really rare when a wakeboarder becomes cooler then wakeboarding…Byerly has done it, Murray's done it, and Parks has now too.
Just another hit on the pipe at Wake the Line in Germany.
What's up with cable contests?
I have really had a lot of fun doing these contest all year. No disrespect to the pro tour, but I have done the pro tour for years and these aren't even really cable contests. They are more like wake park contests and its with different people and in different places. It's a lot of fun going back and forth from boat the wake park. But my body is letting me know that it's not a fan. I have been more sore this year then ever before.
Howdy, because the weather was really dreadful when I got up so I took it upon myself to stay at home and check out the web instead, it turned out to be such a incredible event for me as I dropped by at your webpage. I just wished to commend you on the superb quality of the work you have done here and to send you the best of luck with it as you advance in the future. It was a pleasure to explore your webpage and I will surely be stopping by again shortly to see just how you are progressing. Thanks a lot and I will certainly see you back here very soon – Costa Blanca


text: Kirk Lapray wrote: > The errors you are getting are when it is trying to read signal > strength, snr, ucblocks, and ber. This is usually caused by not being > tuned to a digital channel. It looks like you are having some tuner > issues and once this is fixed you should no longer get these errors. EXACTLY! Now I got it working...... I'll be committing the nxt200x module to cvs in a few minutes. After that, I will commit your v4l-kernel patch. > As for these additional devices showing up, did you load the nxt200x > before these started showing up? All the changes I made in > tuner-simple should only apply to the HDTV Wonder, but some of the > same init steps are also done in the nxt200x driver at the end of > nxt2004_init function under "initialize tuner." You can see these > same commands in cx88-cards for the HDTV Wonder. These commands > enable the tuner so it shows up on the I2C bus on the HDTV Wonder, and > I wonder if it is also doing this on the A180. If this is the case > try using the tuning code in the nxt200x driver that writes directly > to the tuner instead of the code that goes through the NXT chip. This is exactly what I did to make it work. To save myself time, I renamed the TDHU2 in dvb-pll to be the same as your tuner, to trick nxt200x into writing to it directly. This was just a hack to see if I can get a signal, and it worked! It seems to be working just as well as my FusionHDTV[35] Gold. I dont like the way that you hardcoded nxt200x to give special treatment to Philips TUV1236D.... I am going to commit the module to cvs exactly as you provided it, but I plan to make some changes. Instead of conditionally writing directly to Philips TUV1236D, I think that it should handle all pll's in this manner by default. We already know this works for Philips TUV1236D and Alps TDHU2. We should instead have a parameter that we pass through the config struct that will instruct the module to go through the NXT chip when communicating with the pll..... Any ideas for what I should name this parameter? > > If this is the case then support for the tuner can be added in > tuner-simple and you should be able to tune to analog channels. To > see how I did this look in tuner-simple and cx88-cards for the changes > made to support the HDTV Wonder and Philips TUV1236D tuner. I'm the guy that committed that patch of yours to v4l-kernel cvs, remember? :-P I'll take care of this aspect after I commit the dvb support for ATI HDTV Wonder, and after that, AVerTVHD a180 ... I am still not convinced that this card has analog support. No matter what tuner I try, all I get is horizontal lines. This doesnt surprise me at all, because many people have reported that this card has no analog capabilities. There have been conflicting reports from what I've read online. After some more tuner-hacking, hopefully I'll find the truth. After I get all the rest of this stuff done, I'll mess with tuner-simple and see if I can squeeze analog video out of it. Thanks again. -Michael Krufky


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Guests: Jim Moran, Elijah Cummings, John Heilemann, Mark Halperin, Liz
Benjamin, Steve Kornacki, Lynn Sweet, Ron Reagan
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC ANCHOR: The charge of the Democrats. Let's play HARDBALL.
Good evening, I'm Chris Matthews in Washington. Leading off tonight, full speed ahead. Is there really any point anymore in Democrats and Republicans talking about health care? As Jonathan Cohn of the "New Republic" put it today, the Republicans call for ripping up the bill and started all over is not a plea for compromise, it's a demand for capitulation. So now the Democrats will go for reconciliation, a straight up or down vote that Republicans pretend has never been used before in recorded human history, but which they themselves have used many times before, including to pass the Bush tax cuts. The Democrats may have the will, but do they have the votes? Let the games begin.
Plus, order in the court. There are times when a president has to take control and that's what Barack Obama did yesterday. He was saying I'm the boss again, no I'm really the president. Where has that guy been the last year?
And how many governors does it take to run New York State? First, Eliot Spitzer resigned after being caught using prostitutes and today, his replacement, David Paterson, announced he's not seeking reelection or not seeking election in part because of accusations that he interfered in a domestic violence accusation made against a top aide. You can bet Democrats are happy to see him go.
Also, it's Palin versus Leno, actually Palin on Leno versus Romney on Letterman next week in a late night clash.
Finally, numbers game. What is 43, we're talking about a president, have against 39, president 39? We're talking about George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter and they're in a "sideshow."
We start with the health care bill. U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings is a Democrat from Maryland and U.S. Congressman Jim Moran is a Democrat from Virginia. Gentlemen, let's take a look right now at what we call on television a montage. Here's White House Press Secretary—House White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today making a point a number of times. Let's listen.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I'm going to let him make a decision and he'll communicate that next week. The president will likely make an announcement next week. Work through with the team some ideas and make an announcement next week. Those questions are better left for when we have an announcement from the president, probably closer to Wednesday. I don't again want to get ahead of what the president might announce next week. I'm going to let the president make a decision and announce that decision. We'll likely make an announcement next week about the next steps forward.
MATTHEWS: Well the word for the White House, gentlemen, is that next week the president is going to make an announcement about the status of health care and how the Democrats get it passed. What's your assessment, Mr. Cummings, of what is going to happen next week when the president makes that announcement?
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: Well, I'm not sure exactly what the president will say, but I'm hoping that he will say he will say that we are going to move forward, that we've got to contain health costs, health care costs, and we've got to move rapidly and we've got a lot of people suffering and they simply cannot wait.
And I would imagine he may have some comments about yesterday's summit wherein it was clear that our Republican friends have rejected many proposals that are already in the bill that they have supported in the past, such as exchanges and making sure that everybody is mandated to have insurance, things of that nature. These are ideas, Chris, for which the Republicans have supported in the past and now they come along when President Obama is proposing them and they suddenly say, you know, this is not good enough. And there are many others, too, by the way.
MATTHEWS: Yeah.
CUMMINGS: So I think we have to move forward because this is a life and death situation. I have people in my district who don't have insurance or who are going to fall under some very, very high premiums very soon and we can see that by what happened with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in California when they just said they were going up on their premiums from 25 to 39 percent for individuals. That's a real problem. And I think that that's just a sign of what is going to happen in the future.
MATTHEWS: You know, I was thinking sometimes, Congressman Moran, when something happens, you can't see that it happens so fast and sometimes it happens so slow that you can't see it like Muhammad Ali knocking out Liston. You can never actually see the punches. But yesterday it seemed like it took seven hours for something to happen. And maybe what happened, I want to ask you about this, an then Congressman Cummings again—is it what happened yesterday, the public saw that the Republicans don't really want a deal?
REP. JIM MORAN (D), VIRGINIA: That's right. That's it. You know, the president needed one more time to show the American public this is what the Republicans have to offer. And it's basically nothing. They want to go back to the starting line but then they want to carry us backwards. You know me, Chris. I used to be a moderate Democrat during the Clinton years. I am no longer moderate with these guys.
They have radicalized because their whole approach to social policy, Chris, is survival of the fittest. If you can't afford health care, tough, suffer. But better that you suffer than what we tax the investment profits of wealthy people in this country. They had nothing to offer, no exchanges, no subsidies, no malpractice suits, no matter of what nature. They are not willing to compromise.
Let's start all over. And I think the president has made it clear if they have got nothing to offer, he's going to have to move forward, the speaker will get the votes, we'll have to go reconciliation but you know, we're on record voting for health care. We're going to get a health care bill that all but 39 House Democrats and 60, et cetera. So we'll get a bill. I think we'll get it within the next—
MATTHEWS: Are you that tough one? Are you radicalized as well, Mr. Cummings, that the Democrats have to do this alone now, that it's full steam ahead or nothing, because the Republicans have basically said we are not going to cover the 34, 30 plus million people who don't have insurance. We're not going to do it. You're going to have to do it.
CUMMINGS: We were elected to bring about certain changes. The American people said they wanted this and by the way, I get tired of hearing the Republicans say oh, we're trying to pass something that the American people don't want. Well, if you look at the polling very carefully and the recent "Washington Post" poll, it says Americans do want a reform. They want to get rid of pre-existing conditions.
Let me tell you something, Chris. Probably 95 percent of the people watching us right now, if they were to lose their insurance, they probably have some kind of pre-existing condition. And let me tell you, if they're over 30, I can pretty much guarantee you they've got a preexisting condition. So what does that mean? That means that folk would not be able to get insurance. And as Congressman Moran said, basically what are the Republicans saying to them? To hell with you? We don't care? Just die? Get sick. I mean come on, this is America.
MATTHEWS: Let's take a look at what Clyburn, James Clyburn, who is the number three man in your leadership said last night on this program. Here he is. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina basically laying out what looks to be the forward motion of where this is going to go right now. Let's listen.
REP. JIM CLYBURN (D), MAJORITY WHIP: Now this whole question that's floating around as to who goes first, that is not important. What is important is to make sure that the found product does not have those special deals in there that the House find so offensive, that we have a very appropriate and fair way to pay for this and I don't think the House members will worry about who goes first with the vote so long as the process is one that will guarantee that we have a bill very close to what the president is proposing.
MATTHEWS: And here's Speaker Pelosi today with a little bit of a refinement on that as she addressed the question of whether the House of Representatives is ready to ahead and accept the Senate bill, assuming the Senate is going to make some adjustments and the House itself is going to make some adjustment in how this bill looks in final passage. Let's listen now to Speaker Pelosi.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER: What you call complicated process is called a simple majority. And that's what we're asking the Senate to act upon. Well, it's up to them. Here are the three steps we're going through. What is the substance? And that's what we will be putting together and we didn't want to do that before we could hear from our Republican colleagues yesterday. Secondly, what is the Senate able to do with a simple majority and then we will act upon that.
MATTHEWS: Congressman Moran, it looks like people have been watching this now for more than a year what is going to happen in the end game is the House of Representatives is probably going to have to pass the Senate bill. The Senate is going to have to pass a reconciliation measure by simple majority vote that adjusted the changes the House wants to see made. And you also will have to make some adjustments by legislation separately.
But this thing is going to happen.
MORAN: It's going to happen. You're one of the few people in the media, Chris, who understands how strong a speaker Nancy Pelosi is. When she decides she's going to get the votes, she will get the votes.
CUMMINGS: No doubt about it.
MORAN: That's right. Absolutely, Elijah. She and Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn, they don't lose. I think we'll probably pass the Senate bill as long as we get assurances, we'll take out the corn husker, kick back on all that kind of junk and we'll go—the Senate will take up reconciliation. We'll get the bill. We'll probably pass a few extra things like we did this past week, eliminating anti-trust exemption for insurance companies. We'll let families keep their insurance until their kid is 26. We may take away the special privileges of drug companies where they can't—Medicare can't negotiate for lower prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.
We'll fix this bill. We're going to get a bill and then we're going to move to jobs and I think by November, it's going to be a very different scene than it is now nationally and the American people will realize we're on their side.
MATTHEWS: Mr. Cummings, do you feel confident that the Democratic Party, acting alone, with its majority, passing a huge health care bill, which changes the whole way we finance health care, can face the electorate come November and do well enough to hold the leadership of the Congress.
CUMMINGS: Yes, I do, and the reason why I say that, Chris, is because we're on the side of what is right, taking care of Americans, making sure that our fellow citizens, some 31 million who now don't have insurance get insurance and also making sure that people are able to afford, continue to afford the health care that they have. And I think the American people, when they look at what we will do, they will be very pleased with what we've done. And again, America will be better and Americans will be better off. And one of the things that is so interesting, Chris, is one of the things I find so interesting about what the Republicans do, they don't just move the gold post. They move the whole stadium.
MATTHEWS: Well they're betting on victory in that new stadium. We'll see what happens in the stadium that the American people walk into this November. Thank you, U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings and U.S. Congressman Jim Moran. Coming up, regardless of where things go from here, President Obama was in control. I think at yesterday's summit, I think that's what we saw. No more guy yelling no from the belfry. This guy was the boss yesterday. We're going to see if my colleagues agree with that. You're watching HARDBALL here on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Well the "National Journal" is out with its list of the most liberal and most conservative members of the Congress. Here are the five most liberal senators and it's a five-way tie. At the top, Ohio's Sherrod Brown, Roland Burris who replaced Barack Obama, Ben Cardin of Maryland and then both Rhode Island Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed We'll have the five most conservative Democrats—actually most conservative senators later in this show. HARDBALL returns after this.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. One day after the president's health care summit at Blair House, where do they stand? And who won? "New York" magazine's John Heilemann and "Time" magazine's Mark Halperin are co-authors of the blockbuster "Game Change." Number one best seller in "The New York Times." The best political writing maybe in history but certainly in the last couple of years.
Gentlemen, thank you for joining us. Now that I've shined you up, the fight begins. I think, and I'll run this out there by you, the experts, the best-sellers, maybe I'm wrong. I think I'll start with Heilemann, who might agree with me. Here's the question. Did the president have a goal yesterday, which was to reestablish the fact that he's chairman of the debate, that he's the presiding officer of this government? Not somebody out at a Tea Party meeting somewhere and not this fellow about to watch who dissed him last fall. Let's watch was done to him when he didn't have control of the room. This was South Carolina Joe Wilson whacking at him in the belfry during his special session last year. Let's listen.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms, the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegal.
REP. JOE WILSON ®, SOUTH CAROLINA: You lie.
OBAMA: That's not true.
MATTHEWS: You lie. I have never, in all of the years of covering and working up there, ever heard such insolence. I thought yesterday was the president's ability to preside and keep order and be at least the chairman of the debate. And I thought he did very well doing that. And also showed some iron. Your thoughts, John Heilemann, and then your colleague, Mark.
JOHN HEILEMANN, NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Well, I thought Chris, I think you're right. And I think it goes back even before this—the summit yesterday, earlier in the week when the White House put out its own health care bill. I think the White House knows that this is it's time for them to lead and they need to retake control of the narrative around health care and the politics of it and so you saw them attach themselves to a specific piece of legislation, a specific proposal and then you saw the president yesterday taking control of that room. I think doing what he always does, which is to command any room that he's in. I mean, he is often the smartest guy in the room.
Sometimes a little bit of a problem because he knows he's the smartest guy in the room and sometimes he can't help but show that he knows. But he was, I think, in control throughout and also showed a lot of respect to the Republicans. You know, he did—he gave them more credit than many people on the left do, by saying that the difference between them are legitimate, philosophical differences on health care reform.
MATTHEWS: Yes, but we never elected Rodney Dangerfield president, the late Rodney Dangerfield, he didn't get no respect, Mark. Let's argue it. You have a different point of view, I hear.
MARK HALPERIN, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, Chris, with all due respect in the immortal words of the "Saturday Night Live" parody of John McLaughlin, "wrong." I think that if the goal here is to pass a big health care bill, I don't think in the room he commanded respect from Republicans. I think he made a mistake calling them by their first names. It might have been an attempt to ingratiate himself, but I didn't sense in the body language or in the aftermath reaction from the members of their staff, any sense of Republicans looked at Obama and said, you know what, he's our only president for the next three years, let's work with him.
And I don't think in the news coverage or for any American who happened to watch the thing that he made any dent in the notion that people need to follow him, that he's our leader on solving the health care crisis. So there were moments when I think I would have hired—he did something that would recommend him to be hired as a facilitator as a confidence but in terms of changing the dynamic of the country or the Republicans, I didn't see it at all.
MATTHEWS: I'm looking at it in terms of getting 217 in the House out of that 255. I look at in terms of getting at least 50 senators to join Joe Biden in passing it in the Senate. In terms of winning on the most important test of this year, John, I'll go back to you, I think he had the troops aroused and the tougher and the more he dissed the Republicans, the more they like it, because they're tired of Rodney Dangerfield, they're tired of a gentlemanly professor who has had fruit thrown at him from the back of the room and he's tired of it. Your thoughts, John?
HEILEMANN: Well, I think there's certainly a large part of the Democratic Party that agrees with you on that, Chris. The place where I agree with Mark, though we disagree on the president's performance, the place I agree with him is that I don't think he changed the dynamic that much in the sense that the key votes for him, in the House and the Senate, are not the people who want him to trash Republicans.
The key votes for him are those who are the wavering, skitterish (ph) Democrats in the middle of the ideological spectrum. There's five or six or seven of them in the Senate. There's maybe a dozen of them in the House. He still needs those votes to pass this even if he doesn't have any Republican votes, which I think it's pretty clear he's not going to have any now. He still needs those Democrats and for those guys, they were looking for some sign that it was safe to side with the president and that they could win the political argument. It's not clear to me that he did that yesterday at the summit.
MATTHEWS: Yes, I just think the country is tired of a government that can't function. They want to see at least the chief executive who can keep order. Let's take a look now at what looks to be the strategies of the two parties. Let's start with the Democrats. It's not quite as clear but it's pretty clear. Here they are trying to make a point that the two sides really aren't far apart.
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: Quite frankly, we may be closer together than people really think and actually getting agreement that we can get move forward on.
PELOSI: Many of the provisions that are in our bill are initiatives put forth by the Republicans.
OBAMA: There are some additional ideas that Republicans have presented that we think are interesting and we also tried to include them.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HHS SECRETARY: And I think there's a lot of agreement that the current insurance market really fails way too many people.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: I was glad to hear my friend Tom Coburn's remarks. I think we agree with most of them.
REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: We are so close to national health insurance.
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), MONTANA: The main point is, we are not really that far apart.
MATTHEWS: Well, anybody who has ever watched, by the way, the North Korean assembly meet, where everybody looks, acts very much in terms of their behavior, very similarly, and actually says the same thing, watch the Republicans now. This is the closest thing to Pyongyang democracy I've ever seen. These guys—if you think the Democrats are swimming together, watch this. Here's their simple message. Kill the bill and start over. Let's listen to how well they stuck together in their talking points. This is frighteningly—well, watch it. This is something—we are not used to seeing this in the West. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a car that can't be recalled and fixed and that we ought to start over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the people that I talked to want us to start over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They would like us to start over.
UNIDENTIFIED MAKE: We are talking about, as Leader Boehner said, and Mr. McConnell, Senator McConnell said, let's start over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if we can do that, start over—
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time to start over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we'd like to start over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we simply want to do is start over, work on a clean sheet of paper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Starting from a clean sheet of paper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's start with a clean sheet of paper.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER ®, OHIO: Let's start from a clean sheet of paper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take the Etch-a-Sketch, go like this, let's start over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALKE: Let's scrap the bill.
BOEHNER: The American people want us to scrap this bill.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALKE: We believe a better approach is to go step by step.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it means going step by step together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want us to take a step back, go step by step, move through these issues step by step.
REP. ERIC CANTOR ®, VIRGINIA: That's why we continue to say go step by step.
BOEHNER: Let's tale a step by step approach.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What American families want is a common sense step by step approach.
MATTHEWS: Mark, you said the president was overbearing. Said, OK, give me a score card for that kind of behavior. It was like the little red book they were waving in their hands. I mean, these guys have never heard such synchronized swimming by the words.
HALPERIN: We could have saved time by just having Frank Luntz go and just say the same thing over and over.
MATTHEWS: That's what I was saying last night.
HALPERIN: It's crazy. Look, the Republicans—one thing they did really well, they did a lot well—better than—
MATTHEWS: Was that good to look like clowns?
HALPERIN: Let's pace that over seven hours. I think what was good about it is they were playing to their strengths because the research does show that the country wants to start over. And what they don't want is for this thing to go through because they opposite it on the merits and because it will give Obama a big win.
They were on the door step of this before the Massachusetts Senate race. And even though the bill is unpopular now in some ways, if they pass something, it is going to shake things up in an unpredictable way. And right now what Republicans want is the trajectory they're on to November to continue because that's the game they played all year.
MATTHEWS: Let me tell you my game. I'm going to play that as often as we did "macaca." We are not going to leave that little montage. Your thoughts, John Heilemann? I think the Republicans look like non-thinking people. Let's put it that way, the way that they almost were hypnotized in their repetition of those terms.
HEILEMANN: Well, the certainly were robotic and frighteningly on message. But I would say, you know, if you compare it to how they sounded in 2009 when they were talking about death panels and they were talking about socialism and talking about a government takeover of the health care system, they actually sounded more reasonable in this meeting than they had sounded and less lunatic than they sounded in a lot of 2009. I think that was part of the goal. They put Lamar Alexander up there to put a folksy spin on things. They wanted to seem like they weren't crazy and although they seemed like robots, they seemed like sane robots.
MATTHEWS: OK, in that spirit, you guys actually disagreed on a couple of points. Congratulations again on your book. I'm so impressed. The book is "Game Change." This weekend when you're visiting your stores, where you buy books and look at them and get your cup of coffee, buy a copy of "Game Change." Thank you John Heilemann and thank you Mark Halperin.
Up next, it's 43 versus 39. What's George W. Bush's beef with Jimmy Carter? You are going to catch it now. The answer is coming up in the "The Sideshow." Talk about old fights. You're watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL. Now for "The Sideshow," first up, he's back. He's got a book coming out in November and god knows who wrote it, but former President George W. Bush was back in Washington today hyping the thing. While doing so, he managed to take a shot at a former Democratic president, Jimmy Carter. "Politico" got it all from a Bushie who was present at a meeting with the former meeting with the former president and texts this little sugarplum quote. "I have no desire to see myself on television." This is George W. speaking. "I don't want to be a panel of formers instructing the currents on what to do. I didn't like it when a certain former president and it wasn't 41 or 42 made my life miserable."
Well, not 41, that's George Herbert Walker Bush. Not 42, that's Bill Clinton, which, of course, leaves former President Jimmy Carter who I can bet actually enjoyed causing some trouble for W.
Speaking of the old guard, Dick Cheney got a call from President Obama on Wednesday to wish him a speedy recovery from his recent heart trouble. Here's the bulletin from Cheney's assistant. Quote, "The former vice president thanked him," that's president Obama, "with a call and they enjoyed a pleasant, non-substantive conversation." Pleasant, non-substantive conversation. Why the need to include non-substant? Why couldn't he have just left it at "they had a pleasant conversation?" Anyway, I wish the former vice president well, as well. I hope he gets through it all so I can keep pronouncing his name correctly for decades to come—Cheney.
Now for the magic number tonight. It harkens back to one of the nerdier moments at yesterday's Blair House Senate. Republican Mitch McConnell's dispute over time. Mitch McConnell.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL ®, KENTUCKY: And just in terms of trying to keep everything fair, which I know you want to do, to this point the Republicans have used 24 minutes, the Democrats 52 minutes. Let's try to have as much balances as we can.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're right.
There was an imbalance on the opening statements because I'm the president.
And so I made, I didn't count my time in terms of dividing it evenly.
MATTHEWS: So after the seven-hour summit how many more minutes the Democrats not including the president have to speak in the summit than Republicans, four, four more minutes than Republicans; the so-called Democratic advantage at yesterday's day-long summit. Four, a count of four minutes more for the D' than the R's. Tonight's not so big number.
Up next, a big bombshell out of New York: Governor David Paterson will not seek election after all. He's been staring at a scandal and facing serious questions about the way he responded to a domestic abuse complaint against a top aide of his.
You're watching HARDBALL. What a big surprise that was on his party. Well, you're watching HARDBALL only on MSNBC.
MILISSA REHBERGER, MSNBC CORRESPONDENT: I'm Milissa Rehberger. Here's what's happening. The Chairman of the House Oversight Committee is accusing Toyota of withholding key evidence on safety defects. Congressman Ed Towns says Toyota settled numerous lawsuits by drivers who are injured in crashes to avoid disclosing testing data highlighting potential safety issues.
About a million homes and businesses are without power in the northeast as a major winter storm dumps heavy wet snow across the region. Thousands of flights have been cancelled at airports from Boston to Philadelphia.
Gatorade says it is dropping its endorsement deal with Tiger Woods. This is the third major endorsement deal to come apart since the scandal.
A very strong magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan's southern island of Okinawa. So far there are no reports of major damage or injuries.
Stocks ended relatively flat on what amounted to a snow day on Wall Street. Investors that did show up grappled with a lackluster GDP report and a surprisingly sharp drop in home sales.
Now back to HARDBALL.
DAVID PATERSON (D), NEW YORK: We have times in politics when you have to know not to strive for service but to step back. And that moment has come for me. Today I am announcing that I am ending my campaign for Governor of the State of New York.
MATTHEWS: A tough moment. Welcome back to HARDBALL.
That was New York Governor David Paterson, announcing he will drop out of the governor's race. He will not seek election in his own right. He addressed the latest problems for his administration. On investigation to whether Governor Paterson and state police improperly contacted a woman who had made domestic violence allegations against a close Paterson aide.
PATERSON: I am looking forward to a full investigation of actions taken by myself and my administration. But I give you this personal oath. I have never abused my office, not now, not ever. And I believe that when the facts are reviewed the truth will prevail.
MATTHEWS: Liz Benjamin writes for the New York Daily News and Steve Kornacki writes for Salon.com. Let's start—I'm sorry there is Ron Reagan. Somebody had the old script in my hand here. I'm sorry. And so is Steve Kornacki, I know Ron Reagan is there and how we got him up so early. Let's go back to Liz Benjamin.
Liz, give me the facts here as coldly as you can.
LIZ BENJAMIN, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Well, you pretty much hit the nail on the head there. You talked about this top aide is actually his body man. The gentleman's name is David Johnson. He has been with David Paterson for about 10 years up until about two days ago when he was suspended without pay in the wake of a "Time" story that found that there were allegations of a domestic abuse by a woman who had been with him for about 4 years, a live-in girlfriend.
And subsequently the case was dropped because she failed to show up and that was 24 hours in court; 24 hours after she received the call or spoken on the phone with governor. There's some dispute about who called who at that point.
And also it turns out that the head of the governor's personal security detail went to this woman's house and talked to her and she said in court testimony that she felt that the State Police were trying to her to drop the case.
MATTHEWS: Is it—what would be the legal piece of this? Is this a question of actual intimidation or is it—the call itself? And is any call in such a matter considered interference or is it an intimidating type of call which involves perhaps even use of the law?
BENJAMIN: Well, I think the real issue here, is abuse of power. I mean you're talking about the State Police, the chief executive, the governor of New York who is in control of the state police, which is a law enforcement agency, has them at his disposal to go and do his bidding in a political manner, I mean, that's ridiculous.
MATTHEWS: Yes, well, certainly the use of police that obviously changes the nature of it. If the police are involved it's not just a political call, or some sort of counseling.
Let me go right now to Steve Kornacki on this, I think this makes a lot of Democrats very happy. And certainly—didn't Rahm Emanuel make a call a while back several months ago to the governor urging him not to run for election?
STEVER KORNACKI, SALON: Well, the guy in the White House who made the move was actually Patrick Gaspar (ph) --
MATTHEWS: Ok, it wasn't Rahm, ok tell me who made the call? Was that at the direction of the chief of staff or on his own?
KORNACKI: Patrick Gaspar—well Patrick Gaspar (ph) is a New York guy don't forget, you know that's where his roots are.
MATTHEWS: Yes, but he could make this call without the president or the chief of staff's push?
KORNACKI: Well, if you look at Patrick Gaspar, he's played a very key role in a number of political moves the White House made. He made a number of bold political moves they've made in the last year.
MATTHEWS: But who gives them license to make these calls?
KORNACKI: Oh, I—look, I'm sure Emanuel does but if you look at Paterson he's taken—excuse me, if you look at Gaspar who's taking the particular interest in New York state and if you look at the move that was made with David Paterson back in September with the White House, it was rather extraordinary. I have to say Gaspar has made some good moves, I think this is one of the bad ones. Because if the White House was telling Paterson, you know back in September is what Democrats, you know throughout New York, already knew at the time. He couldn't win in 2010.
MATTHEWS: Ok.
KORNACKI: He was going to need to get out. You need to let that process play out. When the White House did that, Paterson dug in his heels.
MATTHEWS: I know that.
KORNACKI: And until the end of February and look at this.
MATTHEWS: Well, how far—how far could that push come from Liz do you know. Did it come from the president's chief of staff? I assume a lot of this is, I always figure the top guy makes the calls, even if it was Rahm he did it with the approval of the president. This is a big decision to call the governor of New York and say don't run for election.
BENJAMIN: I think that- -
MATTHEWS: Staffers don't do that.
BENJAMIN: No. The implication was always that it was done with at least the understanding and the tacit approval of everyone involved.
But I do agree with Steve Kornacki here, that it's you know, it was an unusual thing to do. It was a shocking thing to do and also the governor always never really acknowledged that that was the case. He said that there was some concern expressed to him about his poll numbers but never he was actually asked to be—to leave the race.
MATTHEWS: I see. It could all be true but the way people talking politics it's never so direct as a lot of people would like to see it in print.
Let me ask you a final question. Does this make everybody happy, Steve? It seems like Andrew Cuomo now, doesn't get involved in an ethnic kind of battle like he was before.
KORNACKI: Correct.
MATTHEWS: But the last time he went for statewide office at the governors level. This clears the air, it seems to me, so he can run if he wants to now.
KORNACKI: Oh, yes and well, he wanted to all along, he was going to all along. And the question was they needed to find the pretense to get him in the race. And they were struggling to come up with the right time and the exact right way to do it. This answers that.
I happen to believe Paterson was probably a goner anyway even if this story never happened. You have the state convention coming up in a few months.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
KORNACKI: He was going to struggle to get the 25 percent to even qualify for the ballot. He was facing a 50 point deficit in primary polls.
MATTHEWS: I see.
KORNACKI: He was going to reach to a point where he had to say how much humiliation can I take. But yes, Andrew Cuomo is the next governor, that's the upshot.
MATTHEWS: Ok, Liz, thanks so much for being on tonight and have a nice weekend and you too, Steve Kornacki. We have a little bit of housekeeping we need to do right now.
MSNBC's Willie Geist, my colleague, is up there in Vancouver at the Winter Olympics—Willie.
WILLIE GEIST, MSNBC CORRESPONDENT: Chris thanks for loaning us a couple of minutes here. And the show that preceded your—the MSNBC Olympic update show, we did what we thought was a phone interview with Team USA goalie Ryan Miller. It turned out it was not Ryan Miller, we've learned since. We are the victims of a prank.
Luckily we have the real Ryan Miller, the goal keeper for the Team USA hockey team here. First and foremost, Ryan, please accept our apology. It's a mistake that never should have happened and we misrepresented your name. And we regret it deeply and I personally feel terrible about it.
RYAN MILLER, U.S. OLYMPIC HOCKEY TEAM: Oh, no problem. I appreciate a good prank. But I do try to keep my reputation. Everybody in the Olympic has taken things very personally. So I just want to clear it up that I wouldn't be guaranteeing the gold medal and I look forward to a great game to compete for a gold medal, though.
GEIST: Well, that was one of the things that the prank caller said, was he pretty much guaranteed if USA played Canada, that the USA would win the gold. So let's just confirm you are not predicting a gold medal yet for the United States.
MILLER: No, I don't make predictions, I like to play the game and you know we have a strong team and we gave ourselves a chance. We're looking forward to a great game and—you know right now, we don't know who we're facing. So we're hoping to whoever make it through, it's going to be a nice competitive game and it's going to be a lot of fun for both sides and all of the hockey fans around the world.
GEIST: Well, I know you don't want to look too far ahead, but if this were the United States-Canada game, what would that atmosphere be like, Ryan?
MILLER: It would be outstanding. I think it would be a great thing for hockey. It's been a long time since we've faced the offer of a big championship and it would be exciting. But we will play whoever for that medal. I'll tell you that much.
I just wanted to clear things up. I got a few minutes (ph) of this from friends and a lot of different PR staff on different NHL teams are getting a hold of people and asking if I'd really become that much different or that cocky because of this.
I assure you I'm not that kind of a person. Anybody who knows me knows I'm pretty laid back, pretty quiet. And I just enjoy playing the game.
GEIST: Well, I thought it sounded fishy at the time. And I'm sorry I didn't stop it sooner than we did. The real Ryan Miller, thank you so much for being so gracious. And again, please accept our apology and good luck on Sunday.
MILLER: All right, thanks Willie and take care.
GEIST: All right, Ryan Miller, thanks so much.
Chris Matthews, we apologize to you too for eating up some valuable time of your show but it's something we had to do and thanks for letting us do it.
MATTHEWS: Well, that's all right. But you're (INAUDIBLE) up great lead-ins up there. Thank you very much Willie Geist, up in Vancouver with the Olympics.
Up next, White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers is leaving the White House—another person leaving—she was the one sort of flogged politically from letting those grifters (ph) into that state dinner last fall. So what's her resignation all about? What are the influences that have something to do with letting the door open there or somebody did.
This is HARDBALL only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: As promised, now here's National Journal's list of the top five most conservative U.S. senators. At number five Jim Risch of Idaho; number four, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma; number three, Kentucky's Jim Bunning, who is holding a one-man filibuster right now against extending unemployment benefits and health insurance help for the jobless; number two, South Carolina's, Jim DeMint, no surprise there; and the most conservative member of the United States Senate, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the man who believes global warming is a hoax.
More HARDBALL after this.
MATTHEWS: We're back and welcome to the "Politics Fix." We learned today that the White House social secretary Desiree Rogers will leave her job next month. Rogers was at the center fairly enough of the Salahi gate-crashing episode last year.
Here's White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today talking about it. He's kind of unclear but let's listen.
ROB GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: She told them around at the beginning of the year that she thought it was time for her to go back to the private sector. She's not been asked to leave; she's decided it's time to go back to doing other things that she wants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the State Dinner incident did not play into this at all?
GIBBS: I don't think it did. No.
MATTHEWS: Radio talk show's Ron Reagan is now officially on this show having done a peek-a-boo a few moments ago; and Lynn Sweet of PoliticsDaily.com, she also joins us. She's w the "Chicago Sun Times".
You know, I have to say if you listen to things closely in this town without over vetting them. Here's Gibbs a careful guy, I think, saying that she told the President and the First Lady some time around in the beginning of the year. Well, some time around the beginning of the year is also some time or fairly close to the time of that incident with the Salahis getting into the White House when they shouldn't have gotten in.
Late November, this could have been like December. And now he says—he's asked does it have anything to do with that event and he says I don't think it. Did that is a very careful non-denial denial. You're thoughts Lynn?
LYNN SWEET, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Well, I thought—
MATTHEWS: It seems to me it's related but I don't know.
SWEET: Well, I talked to Desiree Rogers today and I did ask her about this. And I think it is—there were several factors to her decision, Chris. I think this was one factor. I think that it opened her eyes to how rough Washington is when somebody gets in—gets involved in a controversy in this town.
MATTHEWS: You know it's a question and you know Ron you've been here when your dad was here. This town resents deeply somebody getting into the White House. It's very hard to score an invitation to the White House. And the fact that somebody would sneak in, it isn't just security. I think we overstated that, it's the attitude of the chutzpah of people to abuse the White House and think it's some cute little trick to sneak in so they get their picture taken.
Look at this—it was obviously why they went in there. These people are the kind of show-ups you see all over this town. There they are, brazenly breaking in. There they are.
REAGAN: Yes. Yes.
MATTHEWS: Somebody had to be blamed, Ron, that's my question. And Desiree Rogers get blamed—
REAGAN: Somebody did have to be blamed. Yes, and as well, the Secret Service took a lot of blame for this and probably rightly so. But you're right. There was blowback at Desiree Rogers as well.
You and I have talked a number of times about the importance of the social aspect of Washington for a new president coming in or any president for that matter and the social secretary is a big part of that. You don't often hear about the social secretary and that's pretty much the way they like it, but nevertheless, it's an important role. It's not a job that's suited to everybody.
And maybe it wasn't really suited to Desiree Rogers and she may have come to conclude that and also, just decided this town is a little too rough for me.
MATTHEWS: Well, it is rough for lot of people.
LYNN SWEET, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, she found that it was rough. I want to disagree, respectfully, Ron. She was very well suited to the job. This is really—the social secretary's a misnomer. It's really director of events in the White House, from bill signings to anything that happens in the building that has people coming and going.
She was a creative force. She put together the music series.
Are they open—the White House?
MATTHEWS: Ok, who's in charge? Let's cut to the quick here. Who's supposed to advise the president on which friends to make in Washington, which enemies not to make?
Because Nancy Reagan, Ron's mom and President Reagan's wife was very smart to pick some of the right friends; Catherine Graham, the people at "The Washington Post", George Rose (ph) was already a friend. She ended up getting a lot of good treatment from people that normally could have been adversarial.
On the other hand, the Clintons come to town. And not to hit them again, they made an enemy of Sally Quinn. Why do people hire people that don't know how to do it? That's my point.
SWEET: Well, I don't know. And it's funny, because Sally Quinn wrote a story calling for Desiree's head after the dinner, kind of out of the blue. She wasn't particularly—and that started the whole thing.
MATTHEWS: Because Sally clearly knows how it works.
SWEET: Well, that—
MATTHEWS: She's the wife of a former executive at "The Washington Post" and also—and very important in Washington, socially.
SWEET: Right, who just got into a jam herself.
MATTHEWS: Ok. Let's not get into that.
SWEET: But my point here is that this kind of rough treatment, there's a few story lines going on here. One of them in the White House—there's just a whole mystique about all these Chicagoans in the White House.
MATTHEWS: Ok. Are they all going home? I see now—this is a bigger question. Are they going back to Chicago? You see that Axelrod's going back. You see Plouffe apparently is going to run the campaign out of Chicago. Has that movement begun?
SWEET: Ok. Actually David Axelrod told me this week that that is absurd. There are no decisions made. And I touched base with Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod, excuse me, strike Valerie on that. That there are no decisions made on that.
The Chicagoans are the top ones. You have Rahm Emanuel who said he was only going to stay two years. David Axelrod has talked about only two years. Valerie Jarrett is someone who I think is in for the long haul.
MATTHEWS: Ok. I think it's fascinating what's going on because we'll see.
But anyway, the big question coming up now, Sarah Palin's coming on Jay Leno's on his come back show next week on Tuesday night on the same night as (INAUDIBLE) programming, Letterman has picked up Romney. So we're going to have this first with a face-off in test of ratings. That's Tuesday.
It looks like the Republican fight for the nomination has already begun between the front-runner by a hair or nose. That's Mitt Romney over Sarah Palin who's right behind him in the betting odds right now.
We'll be right back with Ron Reagan and Lynn Sweet with more of "The Fix".
You're watching HARDBALL only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: We're back with more of the politics. Tuesday night's going to be a late night fight. Jay Leno has booked Sarah Palin for his second night back hosting in "The Tonight Show" on NBC and David Letterman has booked Mitt Romney for his show. So what's it all about?
We're back with radio talk show's Ron Reagan and Lynn Sweet of the "Chicago Sun-Times".
But first, lady and gentleman, I want you look at this right now. In-trade, that's the international betting odds program over in Ireland has Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and John Thune in that order as the three best bets for the Republican nomination next time. It's got Romney at 26, Palin right behind him at 24 and Thune as sort of the sleeper out there.
Ron Reagan, your thoughts about this and this fight that has already begun on NBC.
REAGAN: Well, we've got kind of a bifurcated Republican Party now. On the one hand, you've got the Sarah Palin TEA party-esque kind of end and then you've got Mitt Romney who I guess could represent the establishment. And neither side really trusts the other. The TEA partiers don't have much use for Mitt Romney and Mitt Romney and the establishment as Jeb Bush pointed out yesterday when he talked about Sarah Palin's lack of understanding of issues realizes that Sarah Palin is in no way capable of actually functioning as president. They're sort of horrified by the Palin candidacy.
Palin wins the ratings war though in this late night shoot-out I predict.
MATTHEWS: Ok. Good bet.
What do you think? Are you saying that same thing?
SWEET: I don't even think it's a contest. Palin has enormous appeal across all the country, everyone knows who she is.
MATTHEWS: For what? Appeal as what?
SWEET: Well, we're talking about late night.
MATTHEWS: Sizzle or steak?
SWEET: Sizzle.
MATTHEWS: Sizzle but not steak.
SWEET: Sizzle. We're not talking—we're talking about a late night show and ratings. We're not looking—are you looking at steak?
MATTHEWS: I'm looking at all sale and no cargo, Ron Reagan, what do you think?
REAGAN: Well, as Jeb Bush implied yesterday, yes, absolutely. Who with the lick of sense, can look at Sarah Palin or listen to her and think, oh, yes, she could be president of the United States. I mean could she find China on a map? I'm not sure.
SWEET: Oh that's—you don't have to put her down like that to say she is a person who a lot of people find fascinating and interesting. I mean I'm not—
MATTHEWS: What scares me is Randy Scheumann's writing her stuff and she could find China and go to war with it. That's what I'm worried about.
REAGAN: But not capable.
SWEET: Here's the thing. A lot of people are not capable of being president who still have important voices and could lead local movements even if they don't end up in the White House.
MATTHEWS: Ok. Well said, but far too generous for this program.
Thank you Ron Reagan.
REAGAN: I believe so, yes.
MATTHEWS: It's good to have you.
Have a nice weekend and Lynn Sweet—he agrees with me. Join us again Monday. Thank you for the inside on Chicago. Join us again Monday at 5:00 and 7:00 Eastern for more HARDBALL. "COUNTDOWN" with Keith Olbermann starts right now.
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